2020 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid Owner Complaints

While attempting a slow right turn from a complete stop at an intersection, I heard a loud thunk sound followed by an immediate loss of power steering response. The steering wheel spun freely with little resistance while the front tires did not respond proportionally. I was able to safely pull over. Upon restarting the vehicle it produced an abnormal wheezing sound suggesting additional mechanical stress. At the time of the failure the vehicle had approximately 40,000 miles, which I believe represents a premature failure for a safety-critical steering component. The vehicle was brought to a Hyundai dealership for inspection. The dealer pulled diagnostic fault codes, found none, performed a 20-minute test drive, and returned the vehicle stating they could not find anything wrong. No physical inspection of the steering components was performed. The failure condition — a slow full-lock turn from a complete stop — was never specifically replicated during the dealer's test drive. The problem has not been confirmed or repaired by the dealer. The vehicle is available for inspection. My safety and the safety of other drivers was put at risk by the sudden and unexpected loss of steering control. No warning lights appeared prior to or during the failure.

NHTSA ID

11737339

Incident

Apr 30, 2026

The charge controller failed twice and one of the times I was out on a dangerous road where there wasn’t a safe spot to pull over. It was very sketchy.

NHTSA ID

11728257

Incident

Feb 9, 2025

The horn on my 2020 Hyundai Ioniq has stopped working. I checked the fuses and they are all good. Hyundai currently has several other models with recalls or at least known to fail. Yes my vehicle is available for inspection and no I have not had it looked at yet… dealer wants to keep it for 3-5 days to diagnose and further, given the nature of the issue, I don’t feel I should be responsible for any fees involved in doing so. It poses me a major safety concern as I cannot warn other cars of potential collision etc. Unfortunately, this problem does not have any type of warning message to let you know. I had to find out by trying to use my horn when someone almost hit me. This appears to me as a Hyundai manufacturing issue that also affects the Ionic line.

NHTSA ID

11714201

Incident

Jan 5, 2026

See attached document for complaint

NHTSA ID

11682318

Incident

Jul 23, 2025

The contact owns a 2020 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid. The contact stated that while idle, releasing the brake and pressing the accelerator, the vehicle would jolt forward before accelerating. The failure would occur intermittently and had become progressively more pronounced. There were no warning lights illuminated. During the most recent occasion, the vehicle jolted forward so aggressively that it caused the contact to have whiplash. The contact had to refrain from work due to the whiplash symptoms sustained, such as neck pain and nausea. The vehicle was taken to the dealer twice, and the dealer was not able to diagnose the cause of the failure. The dealer was able to experience the failure described when inspecting the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and confirmed the vehicle was not covered under warranty or recall. The manufacturer filed a complaint. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

NHTSA ID

11675641

Incident

Nov 23, 2024

Mileage

60,000 mi

Car has two horns, both STOPPED working completely about 2 1/2 years ago and were replaced by the Hyundai dealer in Florence, SC. High pitch horn failed again about 1 year ago, and low pitch horn has now failed. Local Hyundai dealership in Pensacola, FL npow wants $800 to replace what should be fully covered. Car now has 75,00 miles so they say it us out of warrenty. But, a safety issue on a known problem (per Hydai frum on line and personal experience) should be fully covered by Hyundai.

NHTSA ID

11648730

Incident

Mar 14, 2025

The Hyundai Ioniq was designed with a dual clutch system for the electric motor and gas motor. This was done to disengage and engage either separately when necessary for low power, regen braking, etc. However, this design heavily impacts the behavior of the brakes and safety of the vehicle overall. When the brakes are applied, the ECU will turn off the gas engine to conserve gas in regen braking mode. Additionally, the ECU will downshift the transmission. Downshifting the transmission and disengaging the gas engine become an issue because conducting both actions removes significant resistance in braking. Causing the vehicle to lurch when the downshift occurs while also increasing stopping distance. This downshift can be felt when braking as both loss of brake power and vehicle lurch. The system also does not account for this brake power loss by increasing brake booster response.

NHTSA ID

11597774

Incident

Sep 24, 2023

The contact owns a 2020 Hyundai Ioniq. The contact stated that while driving 70 MPH with the adaptive cruise control and lane keep assist features activated, the check engine warning light suddenly illuminated and the steering wheel seized causing the driver to lose control of the steering and the vehicle crashed into a concrete barrier. After restarting the vehicle, the check engine warning light was no longer illuminated and the vehicle operated as normal. No injuries were reported and no police report was taken. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 37,859.

NHTSA ID

11551859

Incident

Oct 21, 2023

Mileage

37,859 mi

***2020 HYUNDAI IONIQ TURNS ITSELF ON, WITHOUT HUMAN ASSISTANCE OR MODERATION. HUMAN DOES NOT NEED TO BE IN THE CAR FOR THIS TO HAPPEN, MEANING IT COULD OCCUR 24/7, SANS DRIVER, AND IS A SAFETY ISSUE.*** *Months of random electrical odd events. Example: the car does not know it’s off or Not shifting correctly *June 6, 2023 - 8am - I entered the car and got settled. The steering wheel is locked…it was not like that the last time I was in the car. I turned the car on, shifted to reverse, and the steering wheel remained locked. I couldn’t fix it so I decided to get out of the car and call for service. *June 6 2023 - Attempting to leave the car. Put the car in park, set the parking break, turned car off, and opened door to get out. When my left foot touched the pavement the Ioniq turn itself back on. I thought I had messed up but nope. I took several videos. I could not leave the car bc it would NOT STAY SHUT OFF. *June 6, 2023 - Called Hyundai service. They could do nothing but had service drivers out and I would get a call back, meantime I had to stay inside the running car. I kept trying the ignition button to get it to stay off. FINALLY randomly unlocked the steering wheel so I drove to the service center. *June 6, 2023 - Hyundai has had my car for 7 days without being officially written up and service started. I cannot get an update from them and have no loaner. I will be taking an UBER there tomorrow to check in person.

NHTSA ID

11526534

Incident

Jun 6, 2023

The contact owns a 2020 Hyundai Ioniq. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH a sudden booming sound occurred near the front passenger’s side of the vehicle. After stopping to inspect the vehicle it was discovered that the front driver’s side wheel well and bumper dislodged and was rubbing against the front passenger’s side wheel. The contact was able to adjust the damaged body part from rubbing against the wheel and continued to drive the vehicle. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 46,650.

NHTSA ID

11514129

Incident

Mar 28, 2023

Mileage

46,650 mi

The lane departure keep system has a major firmware bug. When the car is moving along a sweeping right hand turn from the farthest left lane, the vehicle senses that the car is going to cross the lane line to the right and jerks the steering wheel back towards dead center. This throws the vehicle towards the left hand curb. The driver must react quickly to jerk the wheel back to the proper position. This takes a reasonable amount of force that not all drivers may possess. Hyundai dealer service technicians are aware of this issue but can only "detune" the system to make it slightly less sensitive.

NHTSA ID

11504345

Incident

Jan 26, 2023

While on cruise control when climbing a hill, a warning appears telling me that the EV has failed and that I should stop driving the vehicle. At the time the warning appears the cruise control shuts off and the car slow dramatically. All 5 times this has happened the vehicles behind me have had to slam on their brakes in order to avoid running me over. Once it was a triaxle dump truck, fully loaded, he went off the right side of the road and almost hit the guardrails to avoid the collision. The car has been tested at our dealership (Jenkins Hyundai) and they have confirmed the issue.

NHTSA ID

11488624

Incident

Sep 5, 2022

My horn failed and was replaced in March of 2021. It stopped working again in January of 2022. The dealer replaced the horn the first time and another horn is on order with an unknown date of when the part will be available. This is a safety concern for me. I drive in the country and many deer run in the road. There has also been an incident where a child ran infront of my car while in my home city. Not having a horn poses a risk to me and others. I would not expect a car that is less than 2 years old to have a horn go out twice. I have driven 50 years and have never had a horn break. There was no warning prior to horn failure nor do I know how long the horn was broke.

NHTSA ID

11454055

Incident

Jan 1, 2022

Received this code from the car: DTC C223986 DTC System CHASSIS DTC Sub System LKAS But NO ONE can tell me what it means...

NHTSA ID

11436123

Incident

May 25, 2021

On June 10, 2021, when driving from Topeka, KS to Park Ridge, IL, there was a failure in both the Adaptive Cruse Control System as well as the Lane Keeping Assistance System. The ACC system started the car moving forward from a complete stop without my intent and the LKA turned the car to the right striking a semi trailer that was completely stopped. Additionally there was no warning from the Forward Collision Warning system

NHTSA ID

11420926

Incident

Jun 10, 2021

GLASS SPONTANEOUSLY CRACKED

NHTSA ID

11403230

Incident

Mar 15, 2021

Mileage

3,000 mi

ON 3/27/2020 I PURCHASED A HYUNDAI IONIQ 2020 WHICH ADVERTISED ON THE WINDOW STICKER VEHICLE INCLUDES ADVANCED SAFETY FEATURES BIND SPOT COLLISION AVOIDANCE ASSIST AND REAR CROSS TRAFFIC COLLISION AVOIDANCE ASSIST. UNFORTUNATELY, THE MANUFACTURER NOTIFIED ME ON 8/24/2020 THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT MANUFACTURED AS ADVERTISED. THE FEATURES CAN'T BE ADDED AFTER THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS. THE MANUFACTURER OFFERED ME $500 FOR MY INCONVENIENCE WHEN I REQUESTED A VEHICLE BUY-BACK TO REPURCHASE THE LIKE KIND VEHICLE WITH THE INCLUDED SAFETY FEATURES.

NHTSA ID

11355068

Incident

Aug 24, 2020

Mileage

5,800 mi